This invention relates to cleansing surfactant compositions which cleanse, condition and moisturize the skin and hair and which exhibit a low degree of irritation to the eyes. The compositions are especially useful for cleansing the skin and hair of infants and young children and adults with sensitive skin and eyes.
Cleansing surfactant compositions are designed to remove accumulated soil and oils from the skin and hair. Unfortunately, these compositions often exhibit a number of drawbacks. The first of these is that upon total removal of skin and hair oils, the skin and hair are made to feel excessively and uncomfortably dry. The second drawback with many cleansing compositions is that the surfactants or other components of the composition contain ingredients that are irritating to the eyes, which is especially troublesome when the products are used on infants, children and adults with sensitive eyes and skin.
One method used by the cosmetics and toiletries industry to overcome the problem of dryness is to add moisturizes to the cleansing product. Unfortunately, this method often provides a product which leaves the body with an excessively oily and slippery residue when the composition is washed from the body. Furthermore, even starting with a surfactant base that has a low degree of eye irritation, the presence of added components such as moisturizers can upset the ocular mildness of the overall formulation. The presence of moisturizers in surfactant compositions also has a tendency to reduce the dispersibility and foamability of the composition, which negatively impacts the consumer acceptance of the product. Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a cleansing composition that is exceedingly mild to the skin and to the eyes. It is another object of this invention to provide a cleansing composition that does not leave the skin with an excessively dry feeling. It is another object of this invention to provide a cleansing composition that leaves the skin and hair feeling moist but without feeling excessively oily and slippery. It is another object of this invention to provide a moisturizing cleansing composition which does not leave a slippery and oily residue on bath surfaces. It is another object of the invention to provide a moisturizing cleansing composition that is not adversely affected as to the attributes of dispersibility and foamability. Finally, it is an object of this invention to provide a cleansing composition with the combination of attributes of mildness to the skin and eyes and effective cleansing, while leaving the skin with a feel that is neither excessively dry not oily.
The present invention relates to cleansing surfactant compositions which cleanse, condition and moisturize the skin and hair and which exhibit a low degree of irritation to the eyes. Skin and hair cleansing surfactant compositions of this invention clean the skin and hair without imparting a feeling of excessive dryness or oiliness. The compositions are especially useful for cleansing the skin and hair of infants and young children and adults with sensitive skin and eyes. The compositions of the present invention achieve their properties as a result of specific combinations of surfactants and substantive humectants which result in excellent cleansing without imparting a feeling of excessive dryness or oiliness to the skin and hair. The composition of the present invention achieve these cleansing and moisturizing benefits while being relatively non-irritating to the eyes. The cleansing compositions of the present invention preferably contain the following components:
a. a surfactant portion containing:
1. a nonionic surfactant;
2. an amphoteric surfactant; and
3. an anionic surfactant;
the total concentration of said nonionic, amphoteric and anionic surfactants being present in the composition in an amount from about 5 to about 20 percent by weight of said cleansing composition; and
b. a substantive humectant present in the composition in an amount from about 0.01 to about 3 percent by weight of said cleansing composition.
The substantive humectant used in the present invention is cationically charged, thereby being capable of binding to the negatively charged sites on the skin and the hair. The negatively charged sites on skin and hair attract the positively charged humectant molecules, promoting a moist feeling on skin and hair cleaned with the compositions of the present invention. The moisturized feeling is retained even after the cleansing composition is rinsed off, and this feeling is maintained for extended periods of time. Furthermore, this cleansed and moisturized feeling is achieved without the oily feel provided by conventional moisturizing agents. Despite the fact that additives to surfactant compositions often upset the ocular mildness of such formulations, the cleansing compositions of the present invention surprisingly retain their ocular mildness in the presence of the substantive humectants used in the compositions of the present invention. The substantive humectants used in the present invention are preferably cationically charged polyols. Preferred humectants are derived from sugars or sugar derivatives. More preferably, the cationic polyol is an alkoxylated derivative of methyl glucoside. Most preferably, the humectants used in the compositions of the present invention further comprise a long chain alkyl or alkenyl group having from 6 to 22 carbon atoms.